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June 23rd 2004
A bit slow getting started today. Alexei (bass
player) was early, everyone else (including me!) was on time but
someone else was late. No prizes for guessing who it was! Why is
the guy with wooden things always late? In this case it was a late
flight from Germany and Moscow traffic……
First on the agenda was a new version of Free Me which I think you
are going to like!! Back home in Spain, Tommy and I are working
on re-mixes of this song and this version is based on a simplified,
slightly up-tempo arrangement. Everyone who hears it loves it and
we will send it to radio when it's finished and see what happens…
It's interesting when you ask a highly qualified player to play
something very simple but that simplicity and the strict tempo (115
bpm) are crucial to the feel of this version so I was very insistent
in this case! The best music clinicians in the world will always
stress the importance of practising the basics and it's a good discipline
for all musicians at any level. Now the track sounded great!
Next up was Stealin' and this was a challenge as I wanted to cover
the new version I've been doing live with the band. Live is one
thing but to pull this off in the studio meant moving some things
around because we needed to play together to get the feel and the
cues right because I don't ever do this song the same way twice!!
(as opposed to recording bass and drums and then everything else
separately). But with Sasha's help we moved the Leslie into the
isolation room, tracked the bass guitar direct and played it as
if we were actually playing it live. And it worked… I think!
Alexei had to leave for band rehearsals so I did my MTV interview
and then a little work with Igor (guitar player) before quitting
for the day and having a dinner meeting to discuss the schedule
and some details for the October tour here. Igor has some homework
to do but I think he's going to be a great addition to the record.
His style is very bluesy and a little reminiscent of Paul Kossoff,
one of my favourite guitar players of all time.
Today was a bit confusing but we got a lot done and, even though
there is still a lot more to do, a few more days like this and we'll
be in good shape. I spend my precious few spare moments looking
forward to my wedding on July 9th and of course the first annual
Ken Hensley Summer Party in Gressvik, Norway on July 3rd.
It's very interesting to talk to Russian people about life in Russia
now and some of the comparisons to the old Soviet circumstances.
There is a strong residue from the Communist mindset that everyone
must be equal in every respect, no-one should stand out from the
crowd and that everything must be kept "between the lines"
as it were. We all know about the high-profile Russians who have
become rich since the collapse of communism here (Abramovich comes
to mind) but for me it is relevant to what happens when I tell the
musicians to bend the rules. They are surprised at first and obviously
not totally comfortable with this concept but, once they do let
go, it's amazing the difference it makes and I love to see the smile
that comes to their faces. As if they are happy to know that they
can be themselves, individuals who are free to express themselves
however they want to… in this case, musically. As we in "the
west" know, this freedom can be abused and is frequently taken
beyond the common realms of courtesy and decency. I hope that doesn't
happen here too soon!
Okay Hensley… off the soap box and into bed!!
Next
day...
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